Trade dispute: Trump announces additional tariffs against Canada

US President Donald Trump has announced additional tariffs of ten percent against Canada. The reason given by the Republican on the Truth Social platform was that an allegedly misleading Canadian advertising campaign against tariffs was not immediately removed. Instead, it was shown last night during a World Series baseball game, Trump wrote.

On Friday, the Canadian province of Ontario suspended the broadcast of the anti-tariff advertising clip after strong criticism from Trump – but not with immediate effect. Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Platform X that following a conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ontario would suspend its advertising campaign starting Monday.

Ford: We achieved our goal

Trump had previously stopped trade negotiations with the neighboring country because of the advertising clip. Ford justified the break for the advertising clip by saying that it would allow discussions to resume. Now it’s clear that it won’t work at first.

The Premier of Ontario had already announced that the advertising campaign would continue to be shown this weekend. The goal was achieved by reaching the American audience at the highest level. The intention was to initiate a discussion about the consequences that tariffs have on employees and companies.

Former President Reagan heard in advertisements

Even when Trump announced the halt to trade negotiations with the neighboring country, he accused Canada of a misleading advertising campaign. In the video released by the government of the Canadian province of Ontario, the voice of former US President Ronald Reagan can be heard commenting on the disadvantages of tariffs. Tariffs are one of Trump’s favorite instruments in foreign policy, as he repeatedly emphasizes.

The US organization The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute had previously complained that the recordings of an earlier radio speech by Reagan from 1987 had been used for the advertising clip without permission – and that the makers of the video had misleadingly embedded the “selectively used” statements of the Republican, who died in 2004, in the video. Legal action is being considered, the organization wrote in a statement published on X.

In his most recent post, Trump accused Canada of not only misrepresentation but also a “hostile act.” He also again suggested that Canada wanted to influence judges in the United States dealing with tariffs.

Trump was referring to the highest court in the USA. The Supreme Court is currently dealing with Trump’s customs policy at the request of the US government. The US President is hoping for support from the judges after suffering defeats in lower courts.

Recently, the mood between the neighboring countries was still good

A few weeks ago, Trump welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Carney to the White House – and had kind words for him. They said they wanted to reach agreements that were good for both countries. Trump also spoke of progress that had been made in recent months.

Previously, US tariffs of 35 percent on many imports from Canada came into force in August. Trump justified the move by claiming that Canada was not doing enough to combat drug trafficking and that drugs were crossing the border into the United States. During Carney’s visit a few weeks ago, Trump vowed that the country would now take stronger action against drug trafficking.